Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Will Obamacare kill the economy in 2014?

I've never seen a time when the debate on our blog was hotter! Yesterday, for instance, we asked you ...

Will the Fed end its money printing and bond buying scheme in 2014?

If so, how will the end of QE-Infinity impact the U.S. economy and stock market?

Believe me: The debate became very heated, very quickly!

Most readers feel strongly that the Fed will continue printing money throughout 2014 — or at least until the whole house of cards collapses ...

Eric writes ...

"I do not believe they will be able to end QE because the federal and state governments can't bear higher interest rates."

E. agrees ...

"The Fed will NEVER end its QE and printing dollars out of thin air," he says. "They can't! Just think about it. The economy stinks no matter what the government tells us. They lie with statistics."

Susan says ...

"Yellen will not only not taper, but will increase QE in 2014. The Fed cannot taper without wrecking the entire economy and crashing the markets."

Bert minces no words ...

"QE will continue until the currency is destroyed."

But many others disagree; they say that QE must end soon. For instance, Marvin writes ...

"I think the Fed will start tapering in March 2014 and continue until no QE by Sep. 2014. ... Interest rates will rise as inflation rises, stocks will pull back at least 10%, but partially recover by yearend."

Jeff feels that QE will most likely end in 2014 as the world dumps the greenback:

"The Fed will continue QE until the dollar loses its reserve currency status. The decision to dump the dollar will probably occur in 2014, but possibly not until 2015."

J. Clark seems to agree, saying ...

"Enough people have said this printing of funny money can only end very, very badly. I think I know how the turkey feels as Thanksgiving day draws closer."

What are YOUR forecasts for 2014?

The entire Money and Markets team is preparing to give you our forecasts and investment recommendations at our special year-end online conference, "11 Startling Forecasts for 2014."

Your personal invitation to attend will arrive in your inbox early next week. First, though, I need to hear your thoughts.

Knowing what you're concerned about and the opportunities you're most excited about will go a long way towards helping us make sure we cover the areas that will help you most.

Just click this link to join our editors on the Money and Markets blog as they discuss today's Question of the Day:

What impact will the full implementation of Obamacare have on the Federal deficit, the U.S. economy, the investment markets and the U.S. dollar in 2014?

Joining the discussion is easy: Just click this link to go to the blog, then scroll down and use the handy comment area to join the discussion!

Our editors will be there to chat with you about the year ahead.

And then ...

Our entire Money and Markets team will give you OUR forecasts and recommendations for 2014 on December 3 and 4